Recap: San Antonio vs. Miami

San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - Miami's star triumvirate played like champions in Game 4 as they carried the Heat to a convincing win to tie the NBA Finals at two games apiece.

Dwyane Wade was unstoppable, LeBron James had his best game of the series and Chris Bosh recorded a double-double as Miami pulled away and downed the San Antonio Spurs, 109-93, just two days after getting embarrassed at AT&T Center.

"It was on our shoulders. We had to play at the highest level," James said. "When all three of us are clicking, we're very tough to beat."

Thursday's meeting eerily resembled that of Game 2, with the Heat scoring 23 points off 19 turnovers and putting the game away early in the fourth quarter.

Wade was the unlikely catalyst after no-showing in the second half the previous three games. He turned up his game to the level that won him Finals MVP seven years ago, logging 32 points -- 18 in the second half -- with six steals, six rebounds and four assists.

James poured in 33 points after averaging less than 17 in the series coming in. The league MVP also pulled down 11 rebounds, and Bosh put up a 20-point, 13-rebound effort for the Heat, who held the Spurs to 37 percent shooting over the final two quarters.

Tony Parker, who was nursing a hamstring injury, had 15 points in the first half but was held scoreless in the second as San Antonio lost its chance at taking a commanding lead in the series.

"In the second half I think I got fatigued a little bit ... but I didn't make it worse," Parker said of the sprain.

Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 20 points, while Gary Neal and Danny Green, the heroes in a 36-point Game 3 blowout, contributed 13 and 10 points, respectively, in the setback.

The teams get an extra day of rest before Game 5 tips off Sunday night in San Antonio.

The Heat, who have not lost back-to-back games since Jan. 8-10, brought an 81-76 lead into the fourth and never relinquished it.

James took a seat to rest for a stretch run that was not needed following a memorable performance from Wade, who had just eight points combined in the three second halves heading into this pivotal battle.

He scored that many in a little over two minutes during the deciding moments early in the fourth, the highlight being an emphatic slam after forcing a turnover and dribbling past two defenders in transition.

Wade assisted on a Bosh bucket that pushed Miami's lead to 94-83 with seven minutes to play, then drove in for a layup that made it a 100-85 game with 5:17 to go.

"(Wade) got into a great rhythm in the first half. For us to win he had to continue to be aggressive," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said.

The benches were emptied shortly thereafter, and a de facto three-game series, with the last two in Miami, is what remains between the Heat becoming back-to- back champions or the Spurs winning their fifth title since 1999.

After hitting a Finals record 16 3-pointers Tuesday, the Spurs stayed hot from long range in the early going, hitting their first three attempts with Kawhi Leonard's triple giving them a 15-5 lead 4:50 into the game.

Instead of settling for jumpers, the Heat erased their deficit by getting to the foul line and working the ball inside for efficient shots.

James scored on the block on consecutive possessions to tie the game, 19-19, then gave the visitors their first lead at 23-21 on an open 19-footer with just over two minutes left in the opening frame.

Miami took a 29-26 lead into the second quarter and extended its edge to 41-31 when Wade cleaned up a James miss with seven minutes left in the half.

The Spurs, though, ended the half on an 11-2 run to even things. Boris Diaw, who did not play at all in Game 3, had seven points during the surge, and when Bosh had his dunk waived off at the buzzer, the score was even at 49-49.

A high-energy third quarter saw six lead changes and four ties, the last change coming when a Ray Allen layup put Miami on top, 62-61, near the midway point.

Game Notes

With his 12th point, James moved past Hakeem Olajuwon for 10th place on the
NBA's all-time scoring list in the postseason. He now has (3,777) career
postseason points ... Bosh shot 8-of-14 from the field. The Heat have won 31
straight games when he makes at least half of his shots ... Allen chipped in
14 points off the bench ... Spoelstra switched Mike Miller into the starting
lineup over Udonis Haslem, but Miller missed the only shot he took in 21
minutes of play ... Leonard had 12 points and seven boards ... Neal and Green
each had three 3-pointers after combining for 13 in Game 3 ... Miami
committed nine turnovers ... Manu Ginobili had just five points on 1-of-5
shooting in the loss.